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Blackburn Not Black Friday

Blackburn Not Black Friday

Businesses could and should do good for society. They should make and sell objects of real and lasting value, things that give great pleasure and utility to their owners. They should sustain and create good jobs that people are proud to do. And they should do so in a way which minimises, or if possible eliminates, all waste and pollution, ensuring that they cause no harm to our planet.
 
Black Friday encourages the opposite of all of this – rampant over consumption of terrible quality tat, poverty jobs, and an ever-growing waste mountain along with terrifying levels of pollution. It is a symptom of everything that is wrong with the way most businesses operate today.
 
Until around 50 years ago we lived in a world where the things we bought were well made, where the making of these things employed millions of people (a third of working Brits were employed this way), and this work sustained communities across the country, towns and cities like Blackburn, which we call home.
 
At Community Clothing we believe in a different way of doing things. Our mission is simple: make great quality affordable clothes which last as long as we can possibly make them, and by doing so we support skilled, well-paid work right here in the UK. We never have a sale, not on Black Friday, or Blue Monday, not ever, instead we charge the very best price we can for the things we sell 365 days a year encouraging you to buy what you need, when you need it.
 
So this Black Friday we encourage you to think carefully about what you want your hard earned money to do – line the pockets of a billionaire trotters up on his yacht in some tropical tax haven, or find its way into the pockets of hardworking skilled folk right here in your own back yard. Think Blackburn*, not Black Friday.
 
* or Bolton, Burnley, Hawick, Leeds, Leicester, London, Manchester or any of the other 31 towns and cities across the UK where we manufacture our clothes.

Businesses could and should do good for society. They should make and sell objects of real and lasting value, things that give great pleasure and utility to their owners. They should sustain and create good jobs that people are proud to do. And they should do so in a way which minimises, or if possible eliminates, all waste and pollution, ensuring that they cause no harm to our planet.
 
Black Friday encourages the opposite of all of this – rampant over consumption of terrible quality tat, poverty jobs, and an ever-growing waste mountain along with terrifying levels of pollution. It is a symptom of everything that is wrong with the way most businesses operate today.
 
Until around 50 years ago we lived in a world where the things we bought were well made, where the making of these things employed millions of people (a third of working Brits were employed this way), and this work sustained communities across the country, towns and cities like Blackburn, which we call home.
 
At Community Clothing we believe in a different way of doing things. Our mission is simple: make great quality affordable clothes which last as long as we can possibly make them, and by doing so we support skilled, well-paid work right here in the UK. We never have a sale, not on Black Friday, or Blue Monday, not ever, instead we charge the very best price we can for the things we sell 365 days a year encouraging you to buy what you need, when you need it.
 
So this Black Friday we encourage you to think carefully about what you want your hard earned money to do – line the pockets of a billionaire trotters up on his yacht in some tropical tax haven, or find its way into the pockets of hardworking skilled folk right here in your own back yard. Think Blackburn*, not Black Friday.
 
* or Bolton, Burnley, Hawick, Leeds, Leicester, London, Manchester or any of the other 31 towns and cities across the UK where we manufacture our clothes.

International Women’s Day celebrates the cultural, economic, social and political achievements of women. As a business, our staff, including our freelance colleagues, are 73% women. Seven of our eleven female colleagues are working mums. And amongst the amazing people who manufacture our clothes there is a similarly positive story of equality in our workplaces. 43% of the manufacturing staff at our UK partner factories are women. We recognise equality in ability and reflect this through equality in pay.

It’s British Pie Week next week. Which in our office means one thing: serious debate.Steak & ale versus pork pie. North v South.

2025 was a year of some pretty amazing numbers for Community Clothing, but there are two that mean more than all the others.  Read Patrick's New Year Impact Update